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Monday, January 14, 2013

Filet Mignon Scallops Hare and Grace Garlic Recipes

These are my real filets. Not fake or doctored photos. You can tell from the way in which I charred it up!

This weekend I whipped up some Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon (which we've dubbed the "Ray Ray Filet") and ultra tasty Garlic Scallops. Don't mind my grill muck, they tasted divine. I want to mention that before you put your steaks on the grill, (they will take about 15 minutes) you should be working on the scallops (about 20 minutes). This is where you must trust your wife, child, or best bud to do your steaks to perfection on the barbecue pit while you are whipping up scallops on the inside. (Don't worry, the filets are so tender, they really can't go wrong--or so you hope.) Here's what I did.

DIY Filet Mignon : Bacon Wrapped Medallion

First you can use filets already cut from your butcher or grocer. In my case, I bought the whole beef tenderloin. Some of you may be scared off by the price of a whole tenderloin,(or even the hearts or butt sections) but trust me, you can get your money out of it versus buying single cuts of steaks. I cut enough steaks off it for the next few months to feed my family and guests. I am known to vacuum pack the ones I won't be needing to use right away in a marinade (yum) which would make even the worst cut of meat taste good.

If you are new at this, it may be confusing. Not all of the tenderloin is considered the Filet Mignon and you may need to read up on how to butcher the filets out of the tenderloin (Based on if you have purchased the whole tenderloin, the butt or the heart)..If you do it once or twice you will have it down to a science. I trimmed my "silver" or silvery thick membrane off and cut two nice filets out for the wife and myself. These I cut as thick as a slice of bacon. I was able to get about 8 filets this size, meat for stew, beef tips (for my Beef Tips and Onions recipe that I make quite often) and some smaller niblets which I intend to make into fresh dog food.

Good luck duplicating this, I've tried with no luck.

Olde Canadian Steak Rub: First I want to explain I get a blend of something called "Gourmet Olde Canadian Steak Rub" (that's a real picture of it above) that is packaged for my local grocer by Nutmeg Spice Company in Terryville, CT. If you can find a distributor in your area please do. Besides the fact I make my own rub, I've got to say this is one of the best spice blends I've tasted and has a huge ZING to it, A small dab of spice leaves your mouth hot, salty and wanting more. They call it a pungent taste and they are right. A small $5 bottle of this has lasted me a year at home on steaks, burgers, and pork and I'm halfway empty. Here is the link to it Olde Canadian Steak Rub If you can't find it, you can use your regular Canadian Steak Rub, or try to create some yourself, which I tried to recreate as spicy as theirs to no avail. (I do teach how to make a similiar rub in my cooking school,so I won't divulge here..)

Step One: Dry rub a small bit of the Olde Canadian Steak Rub onto all sides and edges of your steak. Marinate refrigerated in a covered glass dish for 24 hours.

Step Two: Wrap two pieces of bacon around the sides of each steak prior to cooking. I used Canadian Maple Bacon but sometimes opt for Pepper Bacon, it's really up to you. Use a toothpick to hold it together. (WARNING: I have to also warn you, that if you don't like your steaks well done, then you should possibly consider zapping your bacon half way first in the microwave (cheating, I know) to where it's still pliable to wrap around the steak. I like mine rare so my bacon would be raw if I didn't do something like this. Wait until the bacon is cool to the touch then wrap and pin with your toothpick.

Step Three: On the day of cooking, slather your steaks with a mix of fresh garlic and your favorite sweet bbq sauce. I like to do this to kill myself with garlic and combat the zing of the dry rub with some sweet sauce. As well the sauce will give the outside of the steaks that burnt and crispy coating that reminds you of yummy bbq, but inside be as juicy as butter itself.

Hare and Grace used his great recipe for Garlic scallops, herb breadcrumbs and aioli. Now, my scallops didn't turn our nearly as nice.

Ray Capaldi, pic from HareandGrace.com

In case you are unfamiliar with Hare and Grace, they are an award winning restaurant in Melbourne City (Australia) launched by Capaldi (he's Executive Chef and Owner). I keep up on them because they do a lot of Charcoal Grilling and a wide variety of meats including offering the rare WAGYU cuts of meat. As you know I'm partial to using Australian cuts of beef (because often they are not loaded and injected with artificial growth hormones) .

Their menu includes a wide selection of items from the barbecue charcoal grill, including grass fed angus. Capaldi has been known to hand select his meats, and forage for herbs and spices ensuring they are fresh, untouched by chemicals. I hope to visit their restaurant someday. In the meantime, I'll just visit from afar. If you are reading this from Australia, check them out and remember they cater all kinds of events, big or small!

The only thing worse than showing you my scallops is showing you this teeny tiny grill I used for my filets, so don't laugh. It's one of those teeny wee grills that are tailgate size. Why waste all that hardwood firing up the big boy when I can use a small tabletop?